Milan Momcilovic Kentucky NIL payment, Digi Mart USA News: Milan Momcilovic became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in both three-pointers made and three-point shooting percentage. With that resume, the 6’9 forward was expected to attract interest from major college basketball programs after deciding to return to school rather than enter the NBA Draft.
Momcilovic was ranked as the No. 2 overall player in the transfer portal by 247 Sports. Kentucky was reportedly desperate to land a top talent after striking out on earlier targets, and the program reportedly offered more than $6 million in NIL money to secure him.
Momcilovic would have needed to be at least the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft to earn that type of one-year payday.
So far, the partnership between Kentucky and its new starting shooter is working well for both sides to begin the 2026-27 season. Momcilovic scored 24 points in 28 minutes, making six of nine three-point attempts in the season opener against Manhattan, once again showcasing his offensive skills.
Kentucky faces a demanding schedule this year, with SEC play and a tough non-conference test against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic. Kansas is led by potential No. 1 overall draft pick Tyran Stokes.
In a spotlight matchup with a younger forward, Momcilovic will have to show he was worth the investment.
Momcilovic has an interesting background. His surname traces back to Serbia, the same country that produced another rising NCAA star, Nikola Kusturica.
His father, Nikola, and mother, Zorica, moved to the United States during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Born in 2004, Milan grew up in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, where he played for the local high school team and won three consecutive state championships before becoming a highly ranked recruit and committing to Iowa State.
Basketball was a natural path for him. Wisconsin has a sizable Serbian community, and Momcilovic grew up surrounded by a culture in which the sport holds a special place.
He has not yet made a final decision about his international future, as he remains eligible to represent both Serbia and the United States.
Momcilovic’s game is built primarily around perimeter shooting. During his junior season, he averaged as many as 7.5 three-point attempts per game while shooting 48.7 percent from beyond the arc.
He brings mobility, athleticism and the ability to run the floor, creating advantages in transition and getting shots off on the move.
Head coach Mark Pope described his value after Kentucky’s season-opening win: “It was great to see Milan make shots, but I think we’re gonna see that all season. It makes the floor really spaced out.
We probably played 20 minutes offensively tonight where we were pretty good. And you just see there is so much space on the floor when our guys are really moving and they are being aggressive and physical downhill and earning power plays.
He is like the sun, man. He just has so much gravity and he pulls defenders to him away from other guys on our team and makes everybody’s life easier.”
Momcilovic did not replicate his opening-night performance against James Madison, scoring seven points on 1-for-8 shooting from three-point range in Kentucky’s 89-80 victory. The game also showed that he does not have to carry the offensive load every night for Kentucky to win.
Kansas will be a significantly tougher challenge, and having a team capable of winning even when his shot is not falling should allow him to settle into his role without the expectation of being the difference-maker every time he takes the floor.
